Over the last week, I've had a few conversations with moms about gifts for little ones...birthdays, Christmas, etc. Everyone I've talked to agrees with me when I say, "My child does not need another toy." (...even though he loves them when he gets them.) Of course, there's always the occasional, "Oh, this is perfect for ____, they just have to have it!" But, most of the time when I'm shopping for gifts for Sam's friend's birthdays, I go into the toy store and I spend way too long trying to find that perfect something, only to realize I've spent too much time thinking about it, and I just grab something, anything...you know what I mean? And many times I also try to pick up a book for the birthday boy or girl, but most of the time I just give the same ol' truck gift for a boy and princess gift for a girl. I do have some creative gift giving friends...I can only dream of being that. One such gift was an art bucket filled with art supplies and an adorable personalized art smock! And although I've thought of a few creative gifts to make/sew for kids...art bags, pencil/crayon/marker holders...the reality of it is that I have yet to make those ideas happen.
And then today, I saw a friend reading a little animal book, called Animal Baby, to her son and I noticed it had a mailing label on it...like the ones that are stamped on the back of magazines you get in mail. I asked her about it and she said it was a birthday gift from a friend. A one year subscription to a "magazine", that is more like a non-fiction book. I love this! And there are many publications out there, even for babies and toddlers. (I know one of you has a special little girl who is turning 2 this month...I would have loved to surprise you with this gift, but sorry, I had to share with everyone.)
So here's what I found: (I found all of these, and more, on Amazon...but don't buy them there because they look more expensive than buying them from the publisher directly.)
The National Wildlife Federation: Animal Baby (0-3 year olds), Your Big Backyard (3-7 year olds), Ranger Rick (7 and Up)
Zoobooks: Zoobies (0-3 year olds), Zootles (3-6 year olds), Zoobooks (6-12 year olds)
Kids Discover (7-12 year olds)
National Geographic: Little Kids (3-6 year olds) and Kids (6-14 year olds)
And I know this is not a very green gift, but I think I would keep these on our bookshelf and not dispose of them like I would a typical magazine...when I did get rid of them I would be sure to recycle or donate them.
Does anyone else have unique gift ideas or ways to handle the LARGE number of trucks/princess toys your child receives?
4 comments:
My friend gave Leyton a magazine subscription for his bday. Highlights has a magazine for the younger kids too.
I don't want to be presumtuous that it is us you are referring to, but I think that is a FABULOUS gift idea. I too wish I was one of those people that could pull off these awesome creative gifts, but that never happens. I do always try to give things that I would like for Gabby...books, puzzles, art supplies, things for imaginary play, etc. We have a birthday party this weekend and we are giving musical instruments.
We pretty much get ALL our gifts at once with a December birthday, so we keep most of them packed away and just take out a new one each month. It is interesting to see how quickly Gabby gets tired of her "toys", yet she can play with Play-doh all day every day and not tire of it...same with her dishes and cooking stuff, and her books.
I recommend you look for these mags on Ebay. I've had lots of them (Animal Baby is great, LOVE National Geographic Kids for older kiddos), and most can be found at deep discounts on Ebay.
I like to give ColorWonder products for birthdays. I only buy this stuff for my kids when we travel, so it's a real treat when they get it. Also girls love to get crafty stuff, bubble bath, etc. I'm not so in tune with boys....yet.
I try to keep my eyes peeled for neat gifts on sale and just pick them up. Then I have a closet of "gifts" to choose from when I need one!
yes I do struggle with trying to find thoughful, non plastic birthday gifts. I also struggle when giving ideas for Drew. especially for this Christmas, I didn't even know what to get him especially since he just had a birthday in October and does not NEED another dang toy! we went with Art Easel and a tool bench as the big santa gifts and tried to minimize the truck/car/plastic purchases.
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